


going back

by spira



Category: 999: Nine Hours Nine Persons Nine Doors - Fandom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-02
Updated: 2014-07-02
Packaged: 2018-02-07 03:18:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1883121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spira/pseuds/spira
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Akane had numerous surreal experiences in her life, but she never expected to acquire more clarity than she'd ever experienced in a gas station convenience store. Spoilers for 999 and VLR in later chapters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	going back

With a clank, metal met metal as Akane exited the SUV she had been in for hours. She slipped off her scarf and wrapped it around her head. The desert sun was beating down upon her tiny frame, and though she was a tough girl, Akane couldn’t help but feel a bit dehydrated; her dehydration, however, distracted her from her ambivalent feelings. Once the most decisive person she knew, she now was plagued by doubt, weighing her down more than her sweat soaked clothes. 

They — That is, her brother and herself — had decided to make a brief pit stop to regroup. Though they knew where they were going, what they were to do next, they hadn’t had much of a time to talk in the past 9 hours — to talk as themselves, at least, as siblings. They spoke as ‘June’ and ‘Santa’, not Akane and Aoi Kurashiki. 

She wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead as she walked into the convenience store. They thought they had traveled a reasonable enough distance, and sufficiently shaken off their pursuers, to stop here. It was rather large for a store attached to a gas station, which Akane had surmised was due to it being the only one for miles; she imagined people stopped here for their various needs, and this store probably made quite the killing. 

She only perused the store for a while. She approached the cash register holding an oversized, white t-shirt that read ‘I heart my poodle’, a choice she had made probably out of some kind of twisted irony. The cashier, a peppery older man who had probably worked there for a whole decade, scoffed at her choice. “No one’s ever bought this one. It’s probably been rotting in storage for over a year now, since we got it. Funny story — they still try to ship us these despite us not ordering any more. Probably trying to get of the damned things.” Akane gave a soft smile. “Aw, are they really not popular? I think it’s kinda charming. I think the disembodied poodle head adds a pleasant aesthetic to it.” As per usual, Akane’s voice is so tinged with gooey sweetness it’s impossible to tell if she’s being facetious or not. Akane pulls from her pockets enough quarters to pay. 

“Not from around here, are you?” Akane glanced at the cashier, a flustered look, then went back to counting. “Am I that obvious of a tourist?” The cashier laughed a hearty laugh. “Lass, I’ve been here for over ten years. If you lived ‘round here, I would know. Can’t say this area has too many residents — or tourists, for that matter. I imagine you’re just passing through,” As he said this, Akane laid down two dollars and fifty cent in change. “May I ask where you’re headed?”

Akane’s face went dark for a moment, before grabbing her shirt and walking to the automatic door. Before stepping out into the blistering white sunlight, she glanced over her shoulder. “Back,” She whispered. “I’m going back.” Without another word, she walked back to the SUV, hopping into the backseat and discreetly stripping from her dampened dress. She slipped into the t-shirt, obviously made for a much larger person than herself, which fit much like a dress a size or two too big would. She waited here, for around ten minutes — Aoi had said he'd take a bit longer, as he decided it would be best to buy a few essentials, to limit the amount of stops they had to make.

"Where I'm going.." That didn't matter. "Where am I coming from?"


End file.
